On May 17,1853 the California legislature created the California Rangers in response to the murderous rampages of the bandit Joaquin Murrieta. A young Dragoon named Harry Love was given the rank of Captain and put in command of a force of 26 men. For the next few months they pursued Joaquin Murrieta and his second in command Three-Fingered Jack. On the 25th of July the Rangers caught up with the gang and killed both Murrieta and Three-Fingered Jack. They removed Jacks hand and Murrieta's head and placed them in jars of alcohol for display to prove what they had done. The Rangers were paid a $1000.00 bounty and became forever a famous part of our history. The Rangers gradually became the State Capital Police, which slowly became the Division of California State Police.